ALTAMAHAW — Like riveting theater, an Ace Speedway points racing season that started in early April arrives at tonight’s curtain-closing moment with a championship hanging in the balance.

Entering the two 30-lap events that will decide the Limited Late Models title, nothing separates Boo Boo Dalton and Jason Payne, who are tied atop the division standings.

Well, nothing except their responses to the following question.

So how does this chase for the championship end?

“I’m winning,” Payne said. “I’m winning this championship. I won’t wreck him, but I will win, I promise you. And he’d say the same the thing.”

Not this time at least.

Same question to Dalton.

So how does this chase for the championship end?

“I don’t know. It’s hard to say, man,” he said. “Win or lose, we’ve come with a fight. But I sure hope we come out winning.”

Dalton won and Payne placed second two weeks ago in the division’s most recent race, finishes that proved critically important to each driver.

For Dalton, the teenager who claimed Ace’s 2010 Limited Late Models’ title, the victory marked his first since Aug. 3 and restored some confidence.

“We felt like the car was just getting worse and worse as it went on,” he said. “But things have come back together. We found us a hot spot, and we’re hitting it hard.”

Meanwhile, Payne avoided a potentially disastrous situation two weeks ago when the engine in his No. 9 Ford expired during pre-race practice.

Thanks to Robert Turner’s generosity and quick mechanical conversion work, Payne was able to drive Turner’s Late Models car, which had been outfitted with the proper carburetor and tires for Limited Late Models standards.

And now, after a full 16-race season, a championship stage is set for tonight at Ace.